


Lambs to the Slaughter

by MoonlitWaterSunnyRiver



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Bad Parenting, Child Abuse, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Parent-Child Relationship, Parent/Child Incest, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-03-18 07:17:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3560933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlitWaterSunnyRiver/pseuds/MoonlitWaterSunnyRiver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's 1904. Trisha Elric is dead; her boys are alone. Enter Envy. He wants revenge; he wants it slowly. So he takes on another shape and steals them away, but he hasn't taken into account that he and the Elric boys have far more in common than he thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Death, psychological torture/abuse,

**Part One**

 

Almost the entire town had turned out to attend Trisha Elric's funeral in a rare show of sympathy for the single mother. Even if the old, steadfast codgers and dames called her a 'shameless hussy', everybody knew the truth; that she'd been anything but.

And now she was gone.

Slowly, though, people began to trickle away. Usually funerals were filled with conversations about the life of the deceased, but this one was uncharacteristically quiet. Nobody wanted to breach the subject, not with the two little boys standing like toy soldiers in front of the gravestone, faces still stricken and disbelieving. It would be the epitome of disrespect.

So they walked slowly away down the hillside in twos and threes. A few people, mostly the young wives of Rizenbul, stopped to kneel by the little boys and whisper, "I'm so sorry for your loss," but they got no response.

The Rockbells were the last to leave. Winry reached out and grasped Ed's hand. "Ed, it's time to go. We gotta make dinner."

Ed didn't move, and Al crouched down, burying his head further into his arms.

"Ed? Al?"

Winry tugged at his arm, but he snatched it back, snarling at her in a sudden show of rage. "Leave me alone!"

She blinked, and then reluctantly nodded, her uncut bangs falling in front of her face. "I'm...I'm sorry...I...We'll have dinner ready for you when you get back, okay?"

He'd turned back to the gravestone, having given no sign that he'd heard, but Winry walked away anyway, grabbing Grandma Pinako's hand and using the sleeve of her black dress to wipe her eyes.

Only when the two of them were alone did Al finally begin to sob, his frame shaking with the effort to keep himself quiet. Ed dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around his little brother, rubbing his face against the four-year-old's shoulder to disguise his own tears. It was his job to be strong now.  _My little man._

"Wh-what are we gonna do now, Brother?" asked Al through his tears.

Ed turned his face towards the granite slab again, reading the name over and over again.  _Trisha Elric. Trisha Elric. Trisha Elric._

"We're gonna bring her back."

If Ed had turned - looked up into the branches of the tree and seen the stranger curled up like a cat in the crook of two limbs - he might have not said anything. He might have kept his mouth shut.

But he didn't.

* * *

 

Asking Envy what his motivations were, no matter who you were, was a futile game. He was a liar by nature, and to ask him the same question twice was to invite two different answers - neither of which were remotely close to the truth.

So why was he standing in front of the Elric house, wearing a shape not unlike his true form yet different enough to prevent himself from feeling sick?

He might answer with,  _I want to fuck with them. It'll be fun._

He might answer with,  _I'd like their allegiance. Make the old man regret it. And I bet Dante would have a field day with minds like theirs._

He might answer with,  _If they're gonna make another one of us, they might as well fucking do it right._

He adjusted the hat he'd chosen to wear and knocked on the door. After a moment, it creaked open, hinges crying out for oil. Al stood there, face tearstained but clean. "H-hello?"

"Hello," responded Envy mechanically.

"Uh-um...who-who are you?"

"I..." Envy's throat suddenly went dry. He knew what name he'd have to use for the charade. He had exactly two seconds to decide whether to walk away from this stupidity or not. He had two seconds to swallow the hatred and anger and misery that was rising like bile.

"My name is William von Hohenheim," he finally said, falling into the formal speech patterns he used when he was nervous, "and it's a pleasure to finally meet you...Alphonse."

Something curdled inside him as he said it, and only the thought of being able to take it out on them later kept him patient and calm as the little boy's bright eyes widened. He turned around and yelled. "Brother! Ed! ED!"

The older of the two skidded to the door, sliding on the hardwood in his hurry. "What is it, Al?" He looked up at Envy, eyeing him suspiciously. "Who's the codger?" he asked brusquely.

 _Codger-!_ "I'll show you codger, you little brat -" he began to say, and then coughed. "I heard about your mother. I'm terribly sorry."

Ed scowled, the hurt in his eyes obvious even behind the mask he was trying to put up. "Go 'way. Got enough people bugging us."

"No, I..." Envy took a deep breath and tried again. "Phillip and I..." He needed to get better at lying. "We were not on the best of terms. I came here to make amends, and that's when I heard about Trisha. Is he here?"  _Ha, that's going to sting._

Al looked at the floor, seemingly ready to start crying again. Ed put his hands on his little brother's shoulders. "Go read a book, Al, I'll talk to the old guy." After the four-year-old had gone, Ed glanced up, crossing his arms. "The bastard doesn't live here."

Envy almost took a step back. It was like looking back through the years, when Ed wore that hateful expression. He hadn't realized how similar they looked, even if they had different mothers. Ed's hair was straighter, less unruly, and his eyes were a bit farther apart, his chin the slightest bit wider -  _focus on the differences, dammit -_

"Oh? What happened?"  _Act surprised._

"He left," muttered Ed bitterly. "He left, an' we wrote a ton of letters, an' he didn't come back, not even for her  _funeral!"_ His voice rose until it was almost a shout.

"Oh," was all Envy could think of to say.

"So if you're looking for the bastard, you can piss off!"

"You've got quite the tongue for a five-year-old," commented Envy, although his inner voice was already screaming at him to shut the stupid kid up. God, just looking at him made him angry, did the brat have to be so irritating on top of it?

Ed said nothing in return, his scowl deepening.

"I know it's probably not my place, but I apologize. My brother has never been strong on priorities."

Ed's scowl changed, although it didn't disappear. He was clearly processing what Envy had said, and then -

"You're - you're our  _uncle?"_

All according to plan.

* * *

 

The boys, understandably, weren't quite sure how to act around William - which was perfectly fine, since he didn't know how to act around them either. After a few minutes of terse conversation, Ed finally said that they were going up to the Rockbells for dinner, and wouldn't he like to come?

Envy almost refused. Only the shy, hopeful look on Al's face made him reconsider, and reaffirmed his resolve to go through with the plan (and oh what a plan it was; he'd wipe that hope and innocence off of Alphonse's face before it made him sick).

So he doffed his hat respectfully to Pinako and little Winry, introduced himself as glibly as he dared, sat down at the dinner table and played out their bloody, gruesome murders in his head. The little girl especially - she was so chirpy it made him wonder how many birds she'd had to eat to steal their voices.

"So...William, is it?" He glanced up from the stew, and into Pinako's beady eyes. "Funny, Hohenheim never talked about having a brother."

Fighting back the sudden feedback of  _sheknowssheknowssheknows,_ he shrugged. "We weren't on the best of terms. Had an argument before he left home and haven't really talked since."

"Oh? How'd you know to come here then?"

 _Is this a conversation or an interrogation?_ "Oh, he sent letters, so I knew he'd settled here. I figured now was as good a time as any to try...patch things up." Envy glanced at Ed out of the corner of his eye. The kid was staring very intently into his bowl. "Besides," Envy added with false good cheer, "I wanted to meet my nephews before they were too old for doddery uncles."

"I see. You're the younger brother, then?" At Envy's nod, Pinako chuckled. "That makes you Al, then."

Envy blinked, and then winced inwardly when he realized that that made Hohenheim Ed. He could see Ed stiffen next to him, and quickly interjected, "Well, every family's different. We weren't ever really close to begin with." Ed relaxed a little - just a little.

God, he'd forgotten just how  _exhausting_ being thoughtful was.

Winry, however, soon piped up. "So are you gonna take care of Ed n' Al now?" she asked, blue eyes wide and curious.

Envy opened his mouth, trying to figure out how to answer.  _Thoughtful, thoughtful, thoughtful...aha!_ He turned to the boys, Al still slurping away and Ed ruffling Den's fur under the table. "Would you like me to?"

Their eyes snapped up to him for a moment, and Al nodded at the same time that Ed shook his head furiously. The blond then proceeded to elbow his brother in the side.

"We c'n take care of  _ourselves,"_ pronounced Ed, glare like molten gold.

"No we can't, Brother -"

"Shut  _up,_ Al!"

The 'nice' act was starting to wear thin. Envy rolled his eyes. "No, you can't, pipsqueak -"

"DON'T CALL ME SHORT!"

"- and I bet if you tried, the old lady would end up doing all the work."

Ed paused in the middle of his tantrum, eyes going wide. He looked at Pinako, and then back at Envy.

_Huh. I was clutching at straws there - I must have hit on something._

Slowly, Ed sank back down into silence. The chatter around the dinner table continued, Pinako leading a mostly one-sided conversation about types of automail. Envy listened politely, soaking in as much information as he could be bothered to - but out of the corner of his eye, he was gazing at the boys. Ed had his hand buried in Den's fur under the table, and was giving Al a desperate look which was only partially returned.

"You can use our guest room if you'd like. I'm sure the boys would offer you their house but there isn't any extra space to speak of."

"That's alright," Envy responded, the manners ingrained in him from years under Dante making themselves useful for once. "Thank you very much."

"It's no problem. I'm just happy to hear that they've got some family after all." She turned and looked up at him with shrewd eyes. "Hopefully you're more dependable than their father."

Envy chose to pretend he hadn't heard that. It was a better option than tearing the old woman's head off and throwing her corpse into the river. Marginally better, anyway.

Although he did have an idea..."Say, do you have any pictures of Trisha? I never got to meet her, and I'm...curious."

Pinako smiled at that. "I've got thousands." She disappeared into the kitchen, and returned a moment later, a photograph in her hands. "This is her."

Envy swallowed the lump that had definitely  _not_ appeared in his throat as he stared down at Trisha Elric. She was smiling at the camera, loose ponytail slung over her shoulder and a few stray strands of hair falling over her face and into her soft eyes, and somehow the photographer had captured her in the first few seconds of a dawning blush that coloured her cheeks the faintest shade of red.

"What...what was she like?"

She took another puff of her pipe. She'd offered one to him earlier but he'd declined. "Sweet, gentle, couldn't harm a fly. Those boys loved her to pieces."

It was strange. He'd seen her once before, from a distance, but it was only now seeing her face that he could truly appreciate that this... _this_ was who Hohenheim had chosen over his own son, his own wife. This...stripling of a girl was who he'd given up his name for, his titles, his land, his  _immortality -_  except he hadn't on that last one, had he? He'd gone off to places unknown to find another body that looked just enough like his to pull the wool over everybody's eyes.

And he'd return to find his precious whore dead and his bastard kids somebody else's property -

"Are you alright, boy?"

His head snapped up, and as he returned to awareness, he realized that he'd been grinning a little too widely. It faded quickly as he searched for an answer, the proper response to what she'd asked. "I'm fine...just tired. It's a pity she's gone, she seems like she was a wonderful mother." The words sounded hollow, insincere, and he thought the bloodlust hidden behind them might burst out at any moment. "And I'm closer to your age than you think...girly." Slightly flirtatious, teasing...normal?

She chuckled. "You don't look a day over thirty, but I drank with Hohenheim for over thirty years and I never saw him age a day. Must be good genes."

_Yeah. Good genes. That's it. Thank God for dumb old bitches._

* * *

 

The spare room was small and sparse, with a bed, closet and bedside table, but it served well enough for his purposes. He hadn't had a proper night's sleep in something like ten years and he didn't feel like breaking the trend in a place as gingerbread as this one.

So instead, he closed the door and stared into the mirror on the back of it, dissecting every detail of the face he'd chosen.

Golden hair, golden eyes. Those had been vital. The idea that he had to pass off being related to Hohenheim and not have that thrice-damned Xerxian colouring was laughable at the least, impossible at the most. But the shape of his face was subtly different - more angular, more like his  _preferred_  form. There was a dusting of yellow stubble around his cheekbones, and light crow's-feet at the corners of his eyes, which were too wide, too far apart for either of his shapes.

He looked so, so old, but he had to - because William von Hohenheim had been eighteen years old when he'd died.

Envy growled involuntarily, drawing his fist back and driving it towards the mirror - but he stopped himself inches from the glass.

_Self-restraint._

He'd never, ever policed himself before, and it almost physically  _hurt_ to do so. But when he thought about what the pay-off would be, it made it a bit easier. It was worth a little discomfort now, surely, to revel in the pain and heartbreak of the  _entire_ Elric family?

Unbidden, the image of Edward - feisty, bratty, blond - rose in Envy's mind again, morphing into a self-portrait far too easily. The hatred curdled in his stomach like rotten milk. He called up the picture of Trisha in its stead, and began to change the face in the mirror into hers.

The Elric boys were going to regret they'd even been born.

* * *

 The next morning, as he smiled and not-so-insincerely complimented Winry on the breakfast she'd made (he hadn't eaten in so long that he didn't have a frame of reference, but it tasted alright) he glanced out of the window. The boys were dragging themselves up the hill, Ed scratching Den behind the ear with a morose look. Neither of them looked like they'd gotten much sleep.

Well, he'd made sure of that.

When they told him in quiet, sad voices that they'd thought about it and that they should probably go with him after all, he managed to turn his crazed grin of victory into a comforting smile, drawing them close in a hug that was only inches away from becoming a bone-crushing grip.

They were  _his_ now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Violence, child abuse, swearing, misogynist slurs

**Part 2**

"Brother, are you alright?"

"Fine," muttered Ed, sinking lower into the seat. Envy scowled and looked away out of the window. The brat hadn't ever been on a train before - he could at least pretend to be excited instead of sulking like someone whose dog had just died.

Oh. Right. That... Eh, he'd get over it eventually.

Al, however, was much more upbeat, although Envy couldn't place how much of it was fake. He peered out of the window with a kind of fearful fascination, watching the world spin by, dizzyingly fast to someone who'd never even been in an automobile.

Something strangely like warmth ignited in his chest as he remembered the first time he'd ever moved this fast. It hadn't been until the mid-1800s, and he'd been over 300 years old already, but he'd reacted just like Al, unable to take his eyes off of the scenery. He quickly quenched it, turning his heart to stone again. Or, at least, as close to it as he could get.

Because even the next day, looking at them - children, just children - was almost too painful to bear.

_Fuck them. Fuck everybody. I don't even remember why I'm doing this. More trouble than it's worth._

He sighed, staring out the window and ignoring the tears that were trickling slowly down the little blond boy's chubby face.

* * *

 

It was another hour to Dublith, and both boys were asleep - Ed's head lolling to one side, while Al had taken the more comfortable route of nestling his head into his brother's lap. It was the most saccharine, vomit-worthy thing Envy'd seen in years, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes - and then he froze as the full import of what he'd done finally, finally,  _finally_  hit him.

He, Envy the Jealous, the green-eyed monster, had just taken on the role of parent.

And he couldn't do a half-hearted job of it, either. Dante would want...she'd want  _results_. She'd want a reason, and some sort of product other than his own self-satisfaction. They  _were_  her stepchildren, after all.

"Oh Christ," he muttered as he realized just what he'd gotten himself into, even if the invocation hadn't been used in over two hundred years. "Oh hell, oh hell, oh hell -"  _I don't know how to do this shit. I can torture them all I like but I can't fucking raise them..._

He collapsed into the red cushioning with a groan. He'd have to either hand them off to Dante...or figure it out.

_Four hundred years of experience. I guess I can probably ad-lib it._

With a jolt, he remembered what Ed had said by his mother's gravestone - "We're gonna bring her back."

_I'm getting sick of my siblings. A new one might do some good. Plus, they might actually be interesting._

The ultimate goal now set firmly in his mind, Envy folded his legs onto the seat next to him and continued to gaze out of the window, his pose now more reminiscent of his usual form, or a cat.  _Now_  he could relax.

* * *

 

"Move your asses."

Ed, and then Al, stepped out into the sunlight, blinking feebly as they tried to wake up - and then their eyes snapped open. Envy couldn't help but laugh a bit. They looked like deer caught in headlights at their first sight of Dublith. The train station was packed today, which didn't help their utter confusion. Rizenbul was tiny, a dot on the map surrounded by sheep. And Dublith was...much more than that.

"What part of move your asses did you not get?"" Envy gave them both a push, or at least as much as he could considering they didn't even come up to his hip in his current shape. "We can't stick around the station all day."

Ed gave him a scowl and started moving forward - Al, however, ducked behind Envy's leg and held on tight. "There's so many people..."

Envy pulled a face, using what self-control he had not just to kick the four-year-old onto the tracks. Before he broke, though, Ed grabbed Al's hand and pulled him out. "C'mon, you weenie! Just don't get stepped on -" and they were weaving through the crowd...and out of his sight.

"H-hey! Wait! Goddammit, you brats, you don't fuckin' know where you're going!"

He caught up with them at the turnstile. They looked up at him with wide eyes, and he glared back. " _What_? You  _don't_."

Ed broke into a fit of giggles. "You said a bad word."

"Are you fucking serious...?" As Ed giggled some more and Al looked horrified, Envy whacked them both on the shoulders, handing them the bags they'd left behind them. "Move it. We gotta find an inn or something."

* * *

 

As it turned out, it was the day of a festival in Dublith, and shoving through the packed streets while trying to keep track of two kids, Envy decided, was going straight on his 'never again' list. After some time, though, he found an inn that looked likely enough, and didn't have a red flag on the signboard yet.

Only to be told sheepishly by the girl at the front desk that the last room had just been taken.

"Say. That. Again," he hissed lowly through gritted teeth.

She did so, shrugging with a laugh. "I'm sorry, sir, you're out of luck."

Envy pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing himself to stop and think even though every part of him was practically  _sobbing_  to break the stupid bitch's neck. (He was starting to realize that it really did seem to be his answer to everything.) "I don't think so," he growled, grabbing the front of her dress and pulling her close, baring his teeth - which had shifted back to their usual razor-sharp, jagged, glinting rows. "You'll get me what I want, if you have to kick someone else out to do it.  _Got it_?"

The girl swallowed, tears welling at the corners of her eyes, and after a moment, gave a slow, uneasy nod, a sob threatening to escape her tightly-compressed lips.

"Oh, don't  _cry_. Just  _do_  it."

She fled, and Envy chuckled to himself, shifting his teeth back to normal. Humans were so easily spooked - especially the women. He could have easily spent the night outside - he didn't even need to sleep, when it came down to it - but he knew enough about how humans worked to know that he couldn't drag the Elric boys around all night and expect them to function properly in the morning. Dante's mansion had crossed his mind briefly, but as much as he liked surprising the old hag, he wasn't quite ready to unveil this one yet.

A moment later, the girl returned, still shaken, with the news of a magically-opened room. Go figure.

* * *

 

The boys were asleep. God, what a fucking homey little phrase. 'The boys were asleep', Envy sneered even as he thought it. Tucked into their beds like little fat wastes of space.

No, he wasn't in a good mood.

And it probably had something to do with the fact that he was standing in a phone booth waiting impatiently to be connected to Dante.  _If that damn bitch doesn't pick up I'll just kill the stupid bastard's kids right now and then hold it over her head that it's her fault for NOT ANSWERING THE FUCKING PHONE._

Finally there was a response in the form of a click and a "Hello?" that managed to be sardonic, bored and annoyingly bitchy all in two syllables. Or perhaps he was projecting.

"Hey, bitch. I have your ex's wastes of sperm, multiple, here. Interested?"

Total, dead silence. Only the small bursts of static triggered by her breaths on the other side of the line let Envy know that she was in fact there. Then, still as calmly as ever with only with the smallest undercurrent of anger, she asked, "What?"

"You heard me."

"Hohenheim's son?"

"Sons. Two of them."

Much to Dante's credit, she didn't bother asking why. "Tell me there's nobody missing them."

"Well, not quite that simple. I posed as their uncle -"

"Their uncle." There was something that was almost a polite laugh. "I don't know what possessed you."

"Stop talking down to me. You wanna see them or not? Or I can just kill them and make it look like an accident."

"Do that and you'll be joining Greed," she answered smoothly. "Bring them up tomorrow. I might take them on as apprentices."

Oh, Envy shuddered at  _that_  one. He almost felt sorry for them. "Whatever." He hung up, shivering at the thought. He certainly wasn't anyone's idea of a model parent, but he  _had_  to be better than her.

He walked out of the phone booth, and caught a glimpse of himself in the glass as the door swung shut, doing a double-take at the sandy blond, then sneering. Something hurt. He wasn't sure what. It was probably just his usual reaction to actually having to talk to the bitch who had been his mother once upon a time.

That made him pause, staring at his reflection again. Swimming up in his mind came the picture of Trisha, the woman who Hohenheim had left him for. Everyone missed her so much.

Envy realized with a shock how wistful he looked, and returned to his usual sneer. Still, the thought lingered. Nobody would ever have missed Dante.

"You shoulda taken me with you, bastard," he muttered, flinching at how loud the words were in the silence. Then, he strode off, back to the hotel room where the boys were sleeping - or so he thought.

He walked in on the girl from earlier sobbing on the lobby couch - and Al sitting next to her, holding out a hanky like a peace offering.

"The fuck?" he burst out before he thought about what he was saying. The girl's head snapped up, and she started shaking her head and blubbering and leaking even more.

"I-I wasn't doing anything bad with your son, I swear, he just came down when he heard me crying, and he's just ever so mature, and oh, I'm so sorry, p-please -"

"Shut up," he muttered, grabbing Al and trying to head back up the stairs, but she wouldn't stop  _blubbering_.

"I said, shut up! I hate it when people won't quit crying."

She continued on, wiping at her snotty nose with the sleeve of her dress. "B-but I...I got in trouble because I gave you a room for somebody else...had to give up my room..."

"Do I look like I give - a - fuck?" On the last word, he lashed out, smacking his closed fist into her face and watching with a sort of detached fascination as she crumpled to the ground.

Al let out a little yelp and scampered to her side, looking back at Envy with an indignant look. "Uncle Will! That was bad! Mum said, it's not okay to hit!"

"Not okay to be a whiny little cunt either, but she was doing it. You're four, let the adults do adult things."

Al crossed his arms, and the rage that hadn't quite emptied itself out into the punch welled into a little pool of molten lava in Envy's stomach. "Get your brother."

"But -"

"I said, get your brother! Now!" Envy aimed a kick at Al, but it went wide semi-purposefully, just catching the edge of his shoulder and knocking him a little bit backwards. With a whimper of fear, Al scurried up the stairs, stumbling a bit.

The bitch on the floor was still sobbing, but Envy managed to ignore her. Instead, he was focused on trying to eliminate the black, yawning feeling in his head that always precluded him completely losing control. He couldn't afford that right now - he really couldn't. Dante would have his head.

A moment later, with him still standing above the wreck of a girl (he really hadn't hit her that hard...maybe) Al came back down the stairs, Ed in tow. The latter was rubbing his eyes and muttering sleepily, but once he took in the scene, seemed totally at odds for what to do next. "Uh...uh...what are we doing, Uncle?"

"We're leaving. Grab your stuff," snarled Envy. The two boys immediately started complaining - "but we just got to sleep" "where are we going" "it's the middle of the night"

"I said,  _get your stuff_!" He was tempted to unleash some form or another on them, but he settled for growling at them, which worked well enough to send them scuttling up the stairs.

Of course, only when he turned around and saw himself in the glass of the door did he realize that, change or no change, he was flashing with red sparks. "Oh, fuck," he muttered blackly, suppressing them as best he could. He hadn't even noticed the room light up. Eh, it was probably for the best anyway - those kids definitely wouldn't be messing with him now.

Still the deep blackness groaned and gaped inside his head, writhing and warning him in a little mocking voice, 'you're going to bre-eak' -

He gulped in some air and held it, waiting for the boys to return and still struggling to ignore her. A moment later, they came back down, bags in tow. They'd travelled relatively light, but their tiny frames still seemed ready to buckle under their weight.

Envy spared the girl on the floor one last glance, only for a shiver to run down his spine at the sight of her glancing back at him, eyes full of fear and something else he didn't want to admit.

"Come on," he said, grabbing them by the backs of their necks and pushing them out into the cool air. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do now, but he'd been in  _that_  state for two days.

The dark cloud inside him remained.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: swearing, child abuse, food, violence.

It had started pissing down on the way to Dante’s, and now there were heavy raindrops plunging straight through the little shelter the paltry canopy provided. It wasn’t even a _real_ forest, not this close to Dublith. Of course, it didn’t stop the little shits from whinging and crying.

Envy knew he was being unreasonable. He hadn’t done this from the start because he knew the kids probably couldn’t handle it – but now they didn’t have a choice. Besides, that stupid crying girl would have the hue and cry on him within the hour.

“Hurry up,” he snarled. Al tripped over something in the underbrush, sprawling on the dirty ground with a sob. He’d been sniffling non-stop since they’d left downtown Dublith.

“I want to go to _sleep,_ ” he murmured. Envy lifted his leg, ready to kick him, but instead he turned and slammed his foot against a tree, a few leaves spiralling down. Al shrank away anyway.

Envy gritted his teeth, closed his eyes. Breathe in. Breathe out. “You can sleep when we get there,” he said, not opening his eyes. “It’s not much farther.”

He turned towards them, and plastered on a fake grin. “Come on.”

Ed glared at him. Envy glared back, lifting his lip slightly to show off some sharp teeth. _That_ got him moving.

 _Stupid brats. It’s not like I enjoy being out in the rain in the middle of the night either._ The only thing that gave him any real comfort was the knowledge that he was at the _very_ least the second scariest thing out here. Besides, Dante’s really _wasn’t_ much farther. He hadn’t lied about that, at least. Although he was starting to wonder what ‘far’ meant to a five-year-old and if he hadn’t overestimated them a little.

He didn’t have to wonder long. “ _Ed!_ Uncle Will, please, help!” came Al’s plaintive cry from behind him.

Envy didn’t hesitate. He swiveled on his heel and leapt backwards, landing on the wet leaves and skidding a little. “What _now –_ “ He cut himself off. Ed was sprawled face-down on the ground, not responding to his brother’s desperate attempts to rouse him. “What _happened?_ ”

“He – he – he just fell over!”

Envy dropped to his knees and grabbed Ed by the shoulders, rolling him over and propping him up against one of the trees. There were a few leaves stuck to his face and lips, and Envy pulled them away, satisfying himself in the process that the child _was_ in fact breathing. “You can’t even walk a few steps without passing out? The fuck do they even _feed_ you these days?”

“We haven’t eaten _anything,_ Uncle,” said Al quietly. “I’m hungry, and Ed’s hungry, and we’re tired, and it’s cold, and I –“

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, I’m a terrible fucking parent.” Envy smacked Ed’s cheek gently. “Hey. Beansprout. Wake up.” He grabbed Ed’s chin and shook it, trying not to use too much force – he wanted to wake the kid up, not tear his head off. _That_ would be a pain to clean up.

Thankfully, the kid was starting to rouse. “Uh?” His eyes started to open. “…Dad?” he murmured.

The bottom dropped out of Envy’s stomach. “ _Don’t call me that!_ ” he hissed, burying his hand in the five-year-old’s short-cropped hair and yanking at it. “Got that?”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I won’t do it again – I’m sorry!” Ed flinched, squeezing his eyes shut again, and before Envy could react, Al had thrown himself between them, beating at Envy with his small fists.

“Leave him alone, leave ‘im _alone!_ ” he was screaming. “He didn’t _mean_ to, leave him _alone!_ ”

Envy fell backwards, blinking in surprise. Al stood back, reaching behind him and grabbing Ed’s hand protectively – and his overlarge shirt slipped to the side, revealing a very fresh, angry bruise.

 _Little brats,_ was his first thought. The second, though – _They don’t trust me._ Which was fair – Envy had many skills, but charisma didn’t rank high among them. That was proving to be a problem. If they didn’t trust him, they wouldn’t trust Dante, and he’d wake up tomorrow morning to find them headed back to Rizenbul. And you couldn’t force somebody into a human transmutation, or beat them into making a Philosopher’s Stone – you needed a carrot to go along with the stick. And they needed to be able to take you at your word.

“I’m sorry,” he echoed back at them, trying not to cringe at the words. God, he felt like a fucking two-year-old learning etiquette. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Al didn’t look convinced, and neither did Ed, peering around his brother’s arm.

“Tell you what.” He settled more comfortably on the ground, taking some time to cross his legs in the unfamiliar body he wore. He’d probably sent off another shower of red sparks earlier – hopefully he could get that under control. _Like hell you will, Envy,_ he snarled to himself. _You’ve been working on that temper for a couple centuries now._ “Let’s sit down and talk for a little. That way you can both have a rest.”

“Can we have some food?”

“Unfortunately I don’t have any. That’s why I’ve been so eager to get to where we’re going.” He was slipping back into the ‘William’ character. That was good. He just had to keep it up. He was a calm, reasonable adult – essentially a mythical figure in his experience, but they were kids, they were easy to fool. “But let’s talk.”

Al sat down carefully, not quite looking at him. Ed followed him, unwilling to let go of Al’s hand. Then he said quietly, “You and D – the bastard didn’t like each other very much at _all,_ did you?”

“What tipped you off?” responded Envy sarcastically, then bit his tongue.

Ed actually seemed to like that, though. “I’m glad,” he pronounced, confidence returning. “Mum kept telling us how awesome he was but I _knew_ he was an asshole. I _knew_ it.”

“I’m not getting into it.”

Al scowled, the expression not quite fitting his round face. “Why are you so mean?”

“Mean? Me?”

“You were awful to the lady! And you keep hitting me and brother and swearing, and I don’t like it.”

Envy bit his tongue a little harder, then swallowed the blood that filled his mouth. _Calm, reasonable adult._ “…I’m just, uh…” He sighed. “ _Fine._ I promise not to touch you at all. Does that work?”

Ed and Al eyed each other, looking a little disappointed, but it seemed to work for them. Envy couldn’t fathom why they didn’t look happier. He’d promised not to hit them anymore, after all! He’d barely touched them even since they’d left Rizenbul, either – they were scared over _remarkably_ little.

“We should get going. It –“ He stopped, thinking it through. “… Are you going to pass out again if we walk any longer?”

Ed tried not to meet his eyes.

“Can you sleep outside?”

“I can try,” mumbled Ed, and Al just nodded, probably unwilling to challenge Envy any more than he already had. Actually, Envy was kind of impressed – he hadn’t thought the younger one had it in him.

“I’m going to go ahead and get some food.”

The two of them looked _horrified._ “You’re gonna leave us _alone?_ ” whispered Al with a panicked look on his face.

“….Yeah?”

“But what if something eats us?”

“Take a bite out of it first. It’ll get the idea.” Envy shrugged off the long trenchcoat he was wearing, dropping it over their heads. “This’ll keep the rain off you. I won’t be long, but get your sleep while you can.”

“And you’re _sure_ there aren’t any…like… wolves?”

“Or bears?”

“Or _snakes?_ ”

Envy snorted. “I never said anything like that. Just, you know, don’t wander off. And don’t make too much noise.” Actually, the wildlife around here was pretty tame, but there was no harm in having a little fun.

He walked off into the forest, waiting until he was sure he was out of sight – then, with a groan of relief and a crackle of sparks, he shifted back into his preferred shape, shedding the form he hated so much and running his hands through his long hair. He took a deep breath, then sprang up into the trees, bounding from one branch to the next, trying not to think about the years yet to come.

He still had time to enjoy himself, after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains what is, essentially, a rape scene. Nothing explicit is shown but it's pretty clear what's happening, and I wouldn't want to post this without a warning. As such, the rating is going up to M and I'm putting this here, also as a notice that this story will deal with CSA and sexual assault quite a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: sexual assault, food, violence, abuse, slurs, emetophobia

The woods hadn't always been here. Centuries ago, the oaks had been saplings, the forest floor soft grass with only a few stray leaves covering it. Now, however, it was a proper forest, thicker and denser than where he'd left the brats. And nestled within the trees was the mansion, an old and crumbling testament to times long gone.

Envy hated the sight of it. It didn't matter how far she travelled or what body she'd taken, Dante always found a way to return here. Greed had been born here – Envy had first taken his preferred form here, too, blending in with the pale bark of the birch trees and the ever-shifting dappled light of the foliage. And now the Elric boys were coming here. Things really did just keep going round and round.

He opened the front door.

“Since when do you enter like a normal person?” came her voice from the connecting room. He ignored her, walking into the kitchen and opening the pantry. Just as he'd suspected, Dante had been feeding herself on bread and cheese again. She had indulgent tastes, but only when somebody else was doing the work.

“I asked you a question,” she snapped. Envy continued to ignore her, yanking a knife from the block and putting together some sandwiches for the boys. He'd have to get some proper food – he couldn't expect them to subsist on the same monkish diet his master did. Then he shook his head in disbelief. He was planning out their _diets_ now. Well, he'd already nearly killed them once or twice. Dante wouldn't be happy if he managed to kill them just from sheer negligence, and no amount of arguing would convince her that it was actually her fault.

Just as he expected, there was the scrape of chair-legs against the wood floor, and the padding of slippered feet coming towards him. “You do _so_ love to vex me,” she grumbled.

“Watch it. You're sounding your age.”

“One of these days you'll treat me with the respect I deserve.”

He laughed. “You say that like I don't already -” The floor lit up, and he collapsed to the floor, biting back his screams as the array she'd created sent shocks through his flesh, boiling his blood. It faded a few seconds later, and he struggled to catch his breath.

She smiled sweetly. “Are you ready to behave now?”

“Don't talk to me like I'm a toddler. We've got _real_ toddlers coming now, remember?” He rubbed his head ruefully – he'd banged it on the counter on the way down. “And I don't suggest doing that to them. Unlike me, they can actually die.”

“What happened to 'wastes of sperm'?” she asked with a smirk, peering at him over her reading glasses. “Have you gotten fond of them already?”

He snorted. “Don't even fucking joke about it. They're barely old enough to take a shit on their own. But they can't be all that much of a waste if they're already trying to bring back their mother.”

“Really?” Oh, _that_ had piqued the old bitch's interest, all right. “That's very interesting. Where are they?”

“Sleeping. They needed food.” He got to his feet, body mostly recovered from her idea of fun. “I'll only be a moment.” He turned back to the counter, taking up the knife again.

Instead, Dante's hand ran over his back, fingers moving down his spine down to where cloth gave way to flesh. “Don't be in such a rush to leave,” she demanded, voice a low murmur.

“Sorry,” he replied quietly, though he wasn't. “Gotta go.” His fingers tightened around the handle of the knife.

Her fingers moved around to his front, toying with the waistband of his skirt. “You've been gone for days, Envy.”

“Fuck off.”

The array activated again, and he collapsed to the floor at her feet, knife clattering to the ground next to him. “Again with the bravado,” she sighed. “It's a good thing you've made yourself so hard to replace or I would have gotten rid of you years ago.”

“Same to you, you cunt,” he hissed.

She clicked her tongue at him, undoing her bun and letting her grey hair fall past her shoulders. “Be a good boy and change your face for me.”

The pain lanced through him again, and he bit through his tongue, blood filling his mouth. “Haven't I done enough of that recently? Can't your fucking libido _wait?_ ”

“I don't see why it should.” She shrugged off her robe, straddling him and activating the array one more time. “Your face. Change it, now. Or I'll find some better use for you.”

He grinned at that, blood staining his teeth. “You always threaten that.”

“And you always believe me.”

“Fine.” He closed his eyes, and let the change happen. It wouldn't take long, anyway. It never did.

\---

He couldn't do it. He couldn't keep the face on for one moment longer. Not now.

They were asleep under the tree where he'd left them, Ed resting on Al's chest with his thumb in his mouth. Envy couldn't help but chuckle a little. They looked so fucking _idyllic._ Garden-of-Eden, children-are-the-future bullshit idyllic at that. He looked at them and he could almost forget that they had no family left.

Except him. And -

He felt his stomach roil, and he fell to his knees, emptying his stomach into the bushes. He couldn't figure out why he felt so sick. Every time, he did. It wasn't anything new any more, but still, every time -

He dropped the paper bag next to them, and sat with his back next to the tree, remembering how he'd chosen this form, sanded down the rough edges, experimented with everything from face shape to height to hair colour until he'd found the perfect shape to hide. He pulled his knees up to his chest. He still felt sick. Hopefully that would fade soon.

The sun still hadn't risen, but the sky was beginning to lighten, and both of the boys began to stir. Al simply rolled over, hid his face in his hands and settled back down; Ed rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms out, yawning until Envy was sure his jaw was going to pop right off of his face. His shirt was too small for him, he noticed; his stomach was poking out, and he had to resist the urge to poke it. They'd made a deal last night. No touching. And he would honor that as long as it was convenient.

Ed stopped mid-stretch, sniffed, and his mouth split open into a toothy grin. He flipped onto his stomach, reaching for the paper bag. “Thanks, Uncle Will-” His eyes opened fully, and he froze, hand hovering over the bag. “You're not my uncle,” he whispered.

 _More right than you know,_ he thought, but he couldn't put the usual viciousness behind the thought. Besides, Ed had woken up and greeted him so sincerely – Envy supposed he deserved a _little_ bit of slack for that. He'd start making the kid's life hell once they got back to Dante's.

“Yes, I am.” He reached into the bag and chucked one of the wrapped sandwiches at Ed's head. To the brat's credit, he caught it, giving Envy a look that was more suspicious than scared.

“Well you're not Uncle William. And he didn't say we had any _more_ uncles.”

“I am your Uncle William,” Envy countered, somewhat frustrated but also wondering how Ed would react. He was five years old; he'd been told children thought of things differently but it had been a long time since he'd been around any.

“...You are?”

“Yup.”

Ed's eyes narrowed. “How do I know for _sure?_ ”

 _Smart kid._ “Okay, last night I left you in the woods half-hoping that by the time I got here with the food you'd been whining for, some big animal would have carried you off and saved me the trouble of having to feed your scrawny fucking asses.”

Ed hesitated for a moment, then nodded, tearing the paper off his sandwich and taking a massive bite. “Okay, it's you,” he mumbled through a mouth full of bread. He reached over and poked Al. “Hey, Al. Guess what? Uncle Will's magic.”

“Mm. What? He's _scary,_ brother, not magic.”

“I'm telling you, he's magic! He can turn into a tree!”

Envy spluttered at that. “A tree?”

“Well, a tree with no clothes."

“I'm wearing clothes!”

“But those are like...” Ed thought carefully, still chewing his mouthful. “It's like _underwear._ You're a tree in his underwear.”

“Don't eat with your mouth full, Ed, it's rude.” Al reached up and pushed Ed's jaw closed, then sat up, looking blearily at Envy. “...Uncle?”

“ _Yes!_ ”

“...Can I have my sandwich too?”

Envy blinked, then handed him the bag. “Here,” he grumbled. He'd sort of hoped for a bit more fear and awe. He didn't understand children at all – hit them, deny them food, and they were terrified of you, but change your face, your form, your voice and tell them you were the exact same person and they didn't bat an eye.

He clearly had a _lot_ to learn.

 


End file.
